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The Forum > Article Comments > The surprising contemporary relevance of the Noah flood story > Comments

The surprising contemporary relevance of the Noah flood story : Comments

By Keith Mascord, published 8/6/2012

If the Bible is 'inerrant' it is in a sophisticated way where you have to read between the lines and within context.

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Keeping in mind the billions of years of Earth's changing formation, one shouldn't be surprised that ancient sea crustacea form the basis of various rock formations.

The beginnings of the modern science of geology was precipitated by a surveyor named William Smith in England, spurred by his lifetime fascination of "fossils" found and played with in his boyhood.
The story of how this interest developed into an understanding of geological formation is fascinating. It was laid out by Simon Winchester in his book, "The Map That Changed the World". (one of the best non-fiction stories I've read)

Here's some background on William Smith and the beginnings of geology.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WilliamSmith/

Here's the map - extraordinary how close it resembles modern technologically superior studies.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=8733
Posted by Poirot, Friday, 8 June 2012 11:22:19 AM
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Ahem - as is now well known, the story of Noah's Flood in the bible was pinched from the Babylonians.. scholars have found much the same tale (actually the bible story is thought to be from a couple of sources)in written material that long predates the Bible version.

One suggestion often made is that this very old legend may, in turn, be based on the fate of people in the Black Sea region at the very start of this intergalacial.. That sea was once a lake not connected to the mediterranean, but then rising sea levels plus a melting glaciers feeding rivers abrutly filled up the whole black sea basin. whole communities had to get out quickly.

This is just a suggestion - there is no way to prove it - but it is an entertaining one.
Posted by Curmudgeon, Friday, 8 June 2012 11:28:57 AM
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>>Dear Keith,
There’s plenty of geological evidence for Noah’s flood.>>

LOL

Oh well, I learned long ago that people will believe what they want to believe.

Curmudgeon

I've heard that one too. Could be.
Posted by stevenlmeyer, Friday, 8 June 2012 11:35:33 AM
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That is definitely something to look forward to, Jon J.

>>...my next contribution: 'The Contemporary Relevance of Bolognese Sauce to conceptions of the Flying Spaghetti Monster'<<

That should stir up the Carbonara faction - watch out for your kneecaps.

But I agree with WmTrevor, that you may have rather rushed to judgement on the article itself. To me, it was a story about a theologian's journey from belief to pragmatism, and as such was both unusual and encouraging. In particular, the way it managed to use the same simple logic applied to Noah, to the problems that Christians have with homosexuality, was instructive.

And hey! - the other positive result was to bring Dan S de Merengue out of his hidey-hole, to remind us that yes, there are still folk out there who find it necessary to take the folkloric parts of the Bible literally.

Hi Michael.

This amused me.

>>I appreciate your describing creationists as consistent<<

I think that may be an example of turning the other cheek. What Keith actually said was "Creationists are admirably consistent", which is of course the polite way of saying "stubborn, in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary". So, to pretend to take it as a compliment must have taken a great deal of teeth-gritting, eh.

Your grasp of logic is as free-form as ever, which is one of the more rewarding aspects of your posts...

"They used to say that those limestone ‘stacks’ (there’s now only eight) took enormous lengths of time to form. Then when they started crumbling before our eyes..."

In the eyes of most people, the act of building something is entirely separate from the act, or process, of its destruction or disappearance. To draw conclusions on the former, through observing the latter, is a non sequitur of truly heroic proportions.

But typical of your unique form of argumentation, I have to give you that.

Admirably consistent, in fact.
Posted by Pericles, Friday, 8 June 2012 11:54:57 AM
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A thought provoking article Keith. I have always considered the stories from the bible to be metaphorical, rather than factual. It is hard to find the metaphor however, for this particular story but I am sure there is one. The bible, to me, is a documentary, displaying historic and moral understandings, which have changed over time. The book of books has served to educate and instil for centuries but where to from here? Is it time to add a newer (3rd) testament or are we already doing that with modern media formats? Religion too served a great purpose by giving a set of rules from which to live, the 10 commandments. It was relevant also perpetuate the population, by man, of the Earth but have we reached a finality and in so doing, need to reverse the strategy? If so, what would our new bible/religion look like?
Posted by David Leigh, Friday, 8 June 2012 12:21:37 PM
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Stevenlmeyer,
I agree with you that people usually believe what they want to believe. But sometimes they read something outside their zone can get them to think a little differently.

You say, “I do not know much about the geological history of Australia but it is possible that parts of central Australia were once underwater.”

Tas Walker is someone is someone that does know a lot about Australian geology. This is his website:

http://biblicalgeology.net/blog/carnarvon-gorge-australia-monument-to-noahs-flood
Posted by Dan S de Merengue, Friday, 8 June 2012 1:05:35 PM
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